A 30-storey mixed-use residential and retail development designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano has been approved for Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct.

Part of Lendlease’s One Sydney Harbour development, the $146 million building will sit aside Crown Resorts’ 71-storey casino and apartment complex. There are two other residential towers planned, of which this building is the shortest.

The building will include retail space and 210 apartments, 48 of which will be affordable housing reserved for key workers such as nurses or teachers.

This development has not come without controversy, with City of Sydney objecting to the lack of information about the key worker housing, ineffectiveness of the planned landscaping, an excess of car parking and excess building height. The council has also critiqued the design of the building’s podium, which it argues should wrap further around the block due to the bulk of the building.

However, following a design revision, the building has received approval from the Independent Planning Commission (IPC).

“The building will exhibit design excellence and will contribute positively to the character of Barangaroo … all units will achieve an acceptable level of amenity,” reads a report by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

The IPC has found the development’s height to be acceptable, as well as the design of the tower and its podium. It has also found the amount of car parking to be acceptable.

“The Commission accepts the conclusions of the department … and agrees the application would achieve design excellence,” says the Commission in a statement.